The 2010 Arts and Crafts Awards

By Charissa Brock

In 2010 there were 13 applicants (the same number as last year) from 6 states and 3 countries (Germany, China, and USA). Adds for the Awards Competition were posted in Fiber arts Magazine, Woodworkers magazine, a national arts elisting, The PNW Source list, and Bamboo Magazine.

The following applicants were recognized for their interesting and inspiring work.

 Kathy Bruce from New York, New York was awarded first place and 700$.

She says of her work:

The structures I build explore archetypal female forms that act as metaphors for traditional ideas associated with mother earth, Pacha Mama and the fertility of the earth, thus reconnecting contemporary society with its longstanding ritual traditions related to nature.

I have constructed a number of figures over the past several years exploring sculptural structures in bamboo that are built around or contain live plant material. My interests lie in creating temporary monumental sculptures utilizing organic materials that respond to the climate, eco –system, plant and animal life in the environment.

Juror Comments: Bruce’s work is amazing! Her large-scale figurative work demonstrates a great deal of technical skill as well as artistic vision. Her work is also a wonderful inspiration for would-be and current bamboo artists.

Juror Comments:  Strong resume and project proposal.  Nice visuals.  Overall good package of materials.

Diane Willow from Minneapolis, was awarded second place and 400$ for her work.

Diane Willow is a multi-modal artist. Her public installations, interactive environments and evocative objects involve media as eclectic as bamboo, bioluminescent organisms, embedded computers, found sound and time-lapsed video. She invites people to engage in multi-sensory explorations as participants and choreographers rather than simply as viewers. She is interested in exploring the subtle ways that we express empathy with one another and with other life forms, with sensing objects and with responsive environments

Juror Comments:  Diane is a well-accomplished artist with a strong background in the arts and it shows in her innovation in the use of bamboo in conjunction with electronics and other modern materials.  Her work is clean and conceptually exciting and enrolls the public in a visceral way that draws attention to bamboo as the dominant element in her sculpture work.

Juror Comments: Willow’s entry demonstrates a strong commitment to using bamboo as a major element in her artwork. Her cable tie fastening technique is both simple and elegant and fits with her merging of high/low tech and natural materials.

Jim Rinde from Camarillo, Ca, tied for third place and was awarded 200$

“As a long time Wood turner I have often thought of incorporating bamboo into one of my turnings but the design inspiration never came together until this past year.  I was talking to one of my fellow Wood turners (Linda Brothers), who is also a bamboo artist and grower and she offered me some bamboo. I accepted the offer and then designed and made the bowl. …The technique I used to make the bowl is the same as what I use when I make turnings from wood or other materials such as pine cones and ferns. This technique consists of making a design for the bamboo and them casting it in liquid epoxy resin, curing the resin to form a solid block of material and then turning it using a woodturning lathe and tools.

Juror Comments: Rinde’s bowl is not only beautiful and intriguing, but also showcases some of bamboo’s unique structural qualities.

Juror Comments:  Jim has done some breakthrough work in incorporating bamboo into the arena of bowl turning.  Although his bowl is machined and finely finished, the character of the bamboo is boldly and unusually expressed in the patterns and exposed grain of bamboo.

Thea Lanzisero from Huntington, NY also tied for third and was awarded 200$.

Thea Lanzisero creates work in sculpture and installation. Her large outdoor constructions made of bamboo, speak about spiritual utopias- ironically Neanderthal, post apocalyptic, and temporary. This work directly responds to being aware of our surroundings using renewable materials and resources including solar power- willing the energy from the sun to light at night. A sense of belonging and being at one with the environment, a feeling akin to spiritual balance, is what the artist is after.

Juror Comments:  Impressive resume, strong project description.

Juror Comments: I enjoy the fact that Lanzsero involves community participation in her large-scale work.

Juror Comments:  I am most impressed with Thea’s work, not only from an aesthetic point of view, but because she incorporates technology, performance, and public participation into the process of creating these works.  She is in the forefront of those who promote a public awareness to the possibilities of bamboo in the arts.

The jurors

ABS was very lucky to have Jan Hopkins, Greg Kono, and Cal Hashimoto agree to jury. All are busy artists, craftsman, and business people, yet they managed to make some time for us. Comments from all three were invaluable and I am so very grateful for the care with which they approached the task. This would not have been possible without their timely help.

http://www.bamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/2009ArtsAndCraftsWinners.html

The American Bamboo Society Arts and Crafts Awards Announcement

The award deadline for the American Bamboo Society Arts and Crafts Awards is August 12, 2012. Please see below for submission details.

Deadline extended! New Deadline August 19th! Hurry and enter!

Application:

2012 American Bamboo Society Arts & Crafts Competition

Award Information and Application Guidelines

Application Period:

January 31st, 2011 to August 12, 2012 at 11:59 P.M. EST

General Information and Eligibility Requirements:

The American Bamboo Society seeks applicants for awards totaling $1,400. Possible award categories are “Celebrating bamboo’s personality”, “Bamboo as a design motif”, or “New and innovative work using bamboo.” Artists working in any art or craft may apply: crafts, fine art, design, literature, and performing arts.

Award recipients and award amounts will be determined by a review panel based on artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement in bamboo. Each applicant will receive a digital copy of Bamboo, the ABS magazine for one year.

Who May Apply:

Anyone living in or outside of the U.S.

Eligible Work:

Crafts, Fine art, Design, Literature, and Performing Arts.

Examples of Non-Eligible Work:

Any project, proposal, or entry made as a class project or for class credit.  Any industrially mass-produced item is also not eligible. Applicants who have won an award, cash or honorable mention in the last two years are not eligible.

Notification and Publicity:

Award recipients will be notified prior to the 2012 American Bamboo Society Conference in Fall 2012 In Austin, TX. Names of award recipients and panelists will be posted on the ABS Website arts and crafts blog following the 2012 conference. ABS retains award recipients’ image files and supporting application materials for our records, the ABS Web site and our publication, Bamboo. Other applicants’ files will be purged from our database in December 2012.

Recipient Responsibilities:

When the award recipient participates in public activities with the funded work (performances, exhibitions, etc.) the recipient shall give credit to the American Bamboo Society with the following credit line: “This project is supported by the American Bamboo Society.”

By August 1st, 2013 award recipients are required to write a short statement describing how the award impacted her/his continued work efforts with bamboo. This report will include photo documentation. This statement will be read at the annual meeting of the American Bamboo Society in the fall of 2012 and published in the magazine, Bamboo, and on the ABS Web site.

Although not required recipients are asked to submit a small article for our monthly magazine, “Bamboo”, about their work.

Online Application Information:

A completed application consists of the following information & files:

Applicant Profile:

Name, mailing address, phone number, website, and email address.

A two-page résumé:

This should pertain to any art or bamboo-related work done.

Project Description:

No more than a one-page description of the proposed project or the body of work the applicant wishes to extend. Be sure to describe how and why you chose bamboo.

Work Samples:

Five to 15 JPEG photos approximately the size of 6” x 8” at 300 dpi. Images must be JPEG files with the .jpg extension. Please put a title on each file with your last name and the title of each piece. Do not send original artworks.

Performing Arts entries may send video or audio recordings.

Work information page:

Text descriptors for each image: Title, Year Completed, Medium, and Dimensions. Performance art entries information should include Title, Year Completed, and a short explanation of pieces.

A short bio:

1,000 words maximum. In the case of an award, this bio will be published.

Artist Statement:

(One page maximum) the purpose of the statement is to give the review panel a better understanding of your work, while they are viewing it. Your statement should be clear, concise and relate to the work samples you submit.

Support materials:

You may include any articles either by photocopy (3 copies per article) or digital file. These must relate to your bamboo/artwork. You may send material samples such as dyed swatches of cloth, however you must send 3 samples.

Going Green:

In order to reduce the amount of paper, plastic, and fuel used in the application processes please do not send your application in a binder or folder.  Everything should fit on a single CD.  If you have no access to modern digital equipment you may send 3 copies of each photograph and 3 copies of each application part printed on paper.  If you would like materials to be returned, please send an SASE with the correct amount of postage.

Please submit your application to:

Charissa Brock

ABS Arts & Crafts Coordinator

Bamboo Garden

18900 NW Collins RD

North Plains, OR 97133

Or digitally to: artsandcrafts@americanbamboo.org